Chaoyang Police Arrest Family Members of Falun Gong Practitioners

2012-07-27

Zhao Qiang, Chief of the Chaoyang County Domestic Security Division, arrested Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Han Minglan's husband, son and daughter-in-law. In order to collect more extortion money, he also arrested several relatives of Ms. Han. They took away 14 people in total. Zhao Qiang collected a large amount of money from Ms. Han's family. Ms. Han was forced to become homeless to avoid further persecution.

On the night of May 9th, 2012, Ms. Han Minglan's husband Xiu Shujun, who is not a Falun Gong practitioner, hung Falun Gong banners in the streets in order to tell people how wonderful Falun Gong is. He was arrested by officers from the Dongdatun Township Police Station and the Ershijiazi Police Station and was taken to the Domestic Security Division of the Chaoyang County Police Department that night.

The day after Mr. Xiu was taken away, Zhao Qiang and others ransacked Ms. Han Minglan's home and confiscated two vehicles which belonged to the Xiu family. After he was arrested, Mr. Xiu's son and daughter-in-law went many times to the Domestic Security Division of the Chaoyang County Police Department to negotiate the release of their father. They offered to pay 5,000 yuan1 in exchange their father's release. The police first agreed without hesitation. However, a little later, they reversed themselves and raised the extortion fee to 10,000 yuan. Mr. Xiu's son was forced to come up with the larger sum. When Zhao Qiang led police to ransack Ms. Han's home, they saw that the family had a truck, a car and a big house. That night, they arrested Ms. Han's son and daughter-in-law. Only a 7-year-old child was left, who eventually was taken in by a relative. The police also stole the car which belonged to Mr. Xiu Shujun's oldest brother. In total, the police took three private vehicles from Ms. Han's family.

When the police ransacked Ms. Han's home, they found a safe in her son's room. The police went to Ms. Han's home again the next day and called Ms. Han's married daughter back to the house. The police tried to force her to open the safe and take his money. Ms. Han's daughter did not yield. She cried out and scolded the police, “What do you want to do? My mother has had to leave home. You have taken all of my family members away. Won't you still allow us to live…?”

On June 13th and 16th, Zhao Qiang and other policemen took away more of Ms. Han Minglan's relatives: Mr. Jiang Zhonghua (who is also a Falun Gong practitioner); her older sister Ms. Han Mingxian and her husband (who is not a practitioner) and sister-in-law Ms. Wang Lixin (who is a practitioner); her younger sister Ms. Han Mingwen and her husband and son (who are not practitioners); Liu Guohua and her husband (who is not a practitioner); Ms. Cao Fuyan, Ms. Wu Guizhi, and others. In total, 14 people were taken away. Some of them were released after being extorted out of several thousand yuan, and in some cases, even tens of thousands.

Currently, the phones of all of Mr. Xiu Shujun's relatives are being monitored. The police are constantly harassing the family.